Dan Marino looms large over Florida NFL quarterbacks

FOOTBALL 2013 PREVIEW

Every bit of it. You ruined it for everybody else. It’s like the guy who once dated Cindy Crawford (old-school reference, in honor of Marino). What happens after the big breakup?

It’s a downward spiral, my friends, which leads you to Damon Huard, Gus Frerotte and Cleo Lemon. No super models in that bunch, much less super quarterbacks. All in all, the Dolphins have gone through 17 different starting quarterbacks since Dan Marino retired following the 1999 season.

Maybe Ryan Tannehill breaks the cycle of guys who are little more than placeholders. Maybe not.

It stinks to get compared to a Hall-of-Fame quarterback, because you can’t top the guy who is simply the best, or at the very least in the heart of that conversation.

The pressure isn’t nearly as demanding over in Tampa and Jacksonville, but their guys feel the pinch, too.

Is Josh Freeman truly a franchise quarterback, or a guy who will leave a lot of unfulfilled potential on the table in Tampa?

What about Blaine Gabbert? Is he a starting quarterback, or nothing more than a high-priced clipboard holder?

Quarterbacks are the thing in the NFL, with our apologies to anyone smitten by left tackles.

You want to start a great NFL team, then go get yourself a great quarterback, or at least a very good one.

Marino defied all that superstitious pretense that wearing No. 13 was like flirting with the devil.

He gave Florida a little more of that precious sunshine in 17 seasons with the Dolphins.Anybody got next?

We’ll start with the guy who is on the clock.

Freeman is in a contract year, which usually bodes well for anybody with something to prove. Freeman will get a big stack of cheese if he plays well. But now in his fifth year with the Tampa Bay Bucs, Freeman has been a bit bouncy at times, unable to establish the consistency a quarterback needs at this level.

“There’s always going to be pressure but it’s all internal,” Freeman said. “When I look at things and who I want to be as a player, it exceeds everything that anyone else can ask for. When I leave the game I want to be one of the best who’s ever played.”

Right now, that’s up for conjecture, big time. His 27 TDs and 17 interceptions in 2012 reflect his herky-jerky play. Freeman has no excuses this season: He has the go-deep playmaker in Vincent Jackson, the gifted possession receiver in Mike Williams, and a star running back in Doug Martin.

All the pieces should fit.

There’s a similar deal in Miami, where second-year pro Ryan Tannehill now has Mike Wallace to play pitch-and-catch with on Sundays.

Tannehill had a respectable rookie season — a 58.3 completion percentage, 3,294 passing yards, 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions — but the numbers this season should give fans a more favorable impression of his rising star-power.

Tannehill gets a go-to receiver this season in Wallace, who comes over from the Pittsburgh Steelers. Wallace has 17.2 yards per catch on 235 receptions, with 32 touchdowns, in his NFL career. Now add a complementary sets of hands in slot receiver Brandon Gibson. A knee injury to free agent tight end Dustin Keller won’t help elevate Tannehill to elite status, but he is still primed for a potentially breakout season.

“I’ve never had a guy who can overthrow me as much,” Wallace said of Tannehill, marveling at his arm strength. “Ben [Roethlisberger] could once in a while. This is only the second guy able to do that. If we ever get on the same page, I won’t stop running.”

While a franchise quarterback could be percolating in Miami, it’s a strange brew over in Jacksonville.

And frankly, it’s starting to leave a bitter after-taste.

Gabbert, now in his third year, had done little to prove that the Jaguars did the right thing when they made him the 10th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.

Gabbert has looked awful at times, including this exhibition season. He threw for just 19 yards on 10 attempts in his first exhibition game, putting veteran journeyman Chad Henne in position to compete for the starting slot.

Although Gabbert looked much sharper the following week against the New York Jets, he suffered a sprained right thumb, which could shake things up in the starting lineup.

The Jags are in a tight pinch from a marketing standpoint. They passed on the opportunity to pursue Tim Tebow in the off-season. Although that seems to be a prudent call given Tebow’s lack of fundamentals, the question that deserves to be asked is: “Could that have been that much worse with Tebow instead of Gabbert at quarterback?”

Tebow is fighting to keep his third-QB backup job with the New England Patriots. Gabbert is fighting for his NFL viability as well.